


Coping with Change

by Gracefulwitch



Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Genre: Comfort, Coping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:14:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22328413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gracefulwitch/pseuds/Gracefulwitch
Summary: Spine has issues coping with Zero joining the band and tries to distance himself. Hopefully Peter the Sixth can help talk him through this (takes place a bit after Hatchworth left).
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Coping with Change

Whenever Spine first heard about it, he wasn’t sure how to feel. Why did they have to have a replacement? Of course he knew the reason, they needed three robots. But replacing Hatchworth was difficult. 

He had grown used to him and his company. And he respected his wishes too. But he hadn’t seen Zero in so long. He vaguely remembered bits and pieces about him but not much. If anything, Rabbit knew more about him. 

She seemed to adjust pretty quickly, cracking jokes and dragging him off on adventures. Spine, however, was keeping his distance. He was sick of this cycle. His siblings going away and barely seeing them. 

It wasn’t that he was mad at them, they had their own dreams and that was good. But Spine just wanted things to stay the same. Change was….difficult. 

Why did it have to be so hard to handle? He had been around for ages and change still bothered the silver bot. Spine was spacing out again during band practice. 

He hadn’t been focused lately but he could care less. He knew he was holding his guitar but his fingers stayed still. Why should he play music? He began to focus more on his current train of thought, keep it going and going and going and going and going and going and going.

“Um…..S-S-Spine? Heh heh, ya know ya love Saturdays! So much that ya wanna sing about it!” Rabbit laughed nervously, trying to cue him again. Spine didn’t move, his eyes half open and his photo receptors looking down at the ground.

Silence filled the room as Rabbit slowly inched to her brother’s side. “S-Spine? Hello?” Rabbit frowned, poking his cheek. No response. “What’s wrong with The Spine?” Zero fretted. 

“That’s weird, he rarely malfunctions…” Steve mused, removing his headphones. Michael put his guitar down, going to look over the silver bot. 

Michael moved his goggles from his neck and over his eyes, starting to look over the bot. “Everything looks fine….” Michael muttered. “No oil is leaking?” Steve blinked. “Nope, no oil or excess steam or glitches in the eyes, no loose wires.” Michael shrugged. 

“Okay….maybe we just need to do a reboot.” Steve decided, pressing a few buttons at his console. Spine soon lowered his hands as Michael removed the guitar. The silver bot lowered his head, a bit of steam leaving his neck. 

“Is S-S-Spine broken?” Rabbit asked, twiddling her fingers. “Of course not.” Michael assured her. “Okay, rebooting now.” Steve said. Spine soon lifted his head, his photo receptors glowing again. “Silver robot number one, everything a-ok, system’s green. Everything a-ok.” Spine rambled.

The robot soon blinked slowly, coming back into focus. “Hey! You’re back!” Zero smiled. “T-There we g-g-go.” Rabbit sighed. Spine glanced between the two before moving out of the room. “Hey! Spine! Come back!” Michael called. 

(....)

Spine wandered through the Walter Manor for hours, ignoring the messages on the WiFi from Zero and Rabbit. He didn’t want to speak to anyone. He didn’t need to. He just wanted to be alone. He needed to be alone.

If he stayed alone, then he wouldn’t get hurt again. He wouldn’t feel sad. He would just exist.

He somehow found himself in Colonial Walter’s old lab, it hadn’t been cleaned in a while. He slowly ran his silver hand along the table, shutting his eyes.

‘Welcome to World.’ Colonial Walter’s voice echoed. Spine let steam exit his lips, almost like he was sighing. He could feel the dust collecting onto his hand as he dragged it across the table. 

‘What do you think of your new brother, Rabbit?’ Colonial Walter’s voice echoed. ‘I dun like him.’ Rabbit’s voice echoed. Spine slowly bit his lip, feeling oil trickle out of his photo receptors. 

He slowly gripped his hands into fists before moving to his knees. He let out what could be described as a sob, letting the oil flow from his eyes. 

He never really let down his emotional wall. He had to be the strong one, the one who handled things, the one who kept everyone together.

He gripped his hands over his eyes, oil coating his silver palms as he kept crying. He wasn’t sure how long had passed but he soon felt a hand brush against his shoulder.

“Spine?” Peter the Sixth muttered. “How did you find me?” Spine whispered. “Tracker, remember?” Peter replied. “Right….sorry…” Spine mumbled.

“You’re leaking…” Peter noted. “Crying….” Spine corrected. “Yeah…..wanna tell me what’s wrong? Steven and Mike said you just walked out of practice.” Peter replied, moving to sit down by his side. Spine moved to sit down as well, letting Peter wipe the oil from his hands and eyes with his handkerchief. 

“Why do you things need to change?” Spine asked slowly. “Well...it’s a part of life. Sometimes we have to deal with change. It can be good or bad either way.” Peter shrugged. 

“Why can’t things just stay the same?” Spine frowned. “Because that’s not it works….is this about Hatchworth?” Peter sighed. “Yes…” Spine nodded. “I figured, Rabbit told me you’ve refused to speak to Zero.” Peter mused.

“It’s not that I hate Zero. I just...once Hatchworth left it sort of kicked in. I’m happy he is doing what he wants and all but….seeing my siblings leave is hard. If I don’t get close to Zero, then I won’t be sad when he leaves.” Spine explained.

“Look, sometimes life drags people in different directions. Sometimes we can’t all stick together. But if they’re good friends and I know they are, they’ll keep in touch. Just because they left doesn’t mean they don’t love you.” Peter told him, finishing cleaning the oil off.

“So...what do I do?” Spine asked, steam hissing from his neck vents. “Well, what do you want? Are you just gonna stay hidden away and keep yourself protected, never living life? Or do you want to take that chance and experience life?” Peter retorted.

Spine was silent for a minute or two, considering his choices. Rabbit would be upset if he just closed him away. And he had others who cared for him too. Sure, he was uncomfortable about this but….he had to try.

Spine soon stood up, following Peter back to the practice room. As the two entered the room, they were met with a worried Rabbit and Zero. Zero looked like he had been crying too.

“T-T-The Spine!” Rabbit cheered, skipping over to him and wrapping him into a big hug. Spine tensed up at first but he soon relaxed, resting his head on top of her own. Zero slowly moved to his siblings, looking up at Spine with innocent eyes.

“A-Are you okay, The Spine?” Zero asked. “Um….no but...I will be.” Spine confessed. Zero nodded gently before moving to join in on the hug. Spine slowly accepted the new touch, shutting his eyes and letting steam hiss from his lips.

He was sure it would take time, but he’d get used to this. He could adjust, but he would do it slowly. Somehow, he would cope. It was just a matter of time and patience.

(End.)


End file.
